How to Design a Living Room With Dark Wood Floors

by Tim Anderson

Dark hardwoods can complement any room of a home.

Your living room provides a showcase of design elements -- and not just for family members but for friends, extended family and other guests. The floors in this high-traffic area of the home need to be durable as well as decorative. When working with dark-colored wood, you'll find a variety of ways to complement or contrast the overall design of the room to get the most out of your chosen floor color selection.

Walls

Walls can complement or contrast with a floor just as easily, based purely upon your color selection. Light-colored walls increase the visual size of a room and contrast with dark floors. This creates two visual focal points. Dark walls blend in better with the floors, creating a neutral look, but they make a room feel cramped if you don’t have a large living room. While paint and wallpaper are two options, consider stucco for a light-colored wall covering, or add dye to darken the stucco to your preferred selection. Another alternative is wainscoting, which can be wood, cultured marble, natural stone, tile or a variety of materials in different colors and styles to contrast or blend with the dark floors.

Drapes, Curtains and Shades

Windows are another area where you can enhance the overall color scheme of the room and work with the floors or provide contrast if you want to create visual focal points that bring people’s eyes to the windows. With large, open windows, such as bay windows, consider drapes, curtains and shades that contrast the floor color so that people’s eyes are naturally drawn to the vistas offered through the window. For smaller windows that do not offer panoramic views, work with colors that match or subtlety blend with the floor color. The darker the window coverings, the more natural light is held out when the shades or curtains are drawn, but if you have adequate interior lighting, this isn’t a concern.

Furniture

Because furniture rests on top of the floor, it directly affects the way you look at the floor itself by attracting the eye. Consider matching wood tables if you are going for a neutral tone that blends in with the natural wood coloring, such as dark cherry or mahogany. Remember that dark colors absorb light, and if you want to help brighten the room, you should opt for light-colored furniture. Light woods and paints help in this area. Wrought-iron furniture is another ideal option if you want the blended look, since the varied textures and darker colors of the metal blend well with natural, dark woods. Upholstery follows the same rules, with lighter colors setting the furniture apart from the floor, while darker colors blend in. Leather can complement the rich, luxurious theme of dark, exotic hardwoods.

Accessories

Trim work is one accessory to consider if you want to complement the overall design of your living room and enhance the floors. A matching trim color is one option, or opt for a contrasting color to accent the windows, doors and other areas where the trim is installed. Decorations and other accessories also work to the same effect. Consider a natural wood mantel above the fireplace that matches the color of the hardwood if you want it to blend in, or use a light-colored paint if you want the mantel to stand out. Wrought-iron decorations on the wall are another blending method, or use painted ornaments to contrast.

About the Author

Tim Anderson has been freelance writing since 2007. His has been published online through GTV Magazine, Home Anatomy, TravBuddy, MMO Hub, Killer Guides and the Delegate2 group. He spent more than 15 years as a third-generation tile and stone contractor before transitioning into freelance writing.

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